


Sweeter

by Recluse



Category: Free!
Genre: Drabble, Gen, M/M, those cookies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 22:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1999695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Recluse/pseuds/Recluse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quick drabble on how that whole cookie giving started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweeter

"Sugar, flour, eggs...Butter...Salt, baking powder..."

Rei checks his basket, making sure he has what's on his grocery list. It'd be difficult, after all, to make proper cookies without the right ingredients, and he does want to get this right the first time. It'd be trouble otherwise, with how much he's been bothering Rin lately.

It was just...He was the only person Rei could ask. Despite what the others had said, his inability to swim other strokes was a personal matter of pride, and it was strange in the first place, wasn't it? Even most children could do the front crawl, and yet, he couldn't, for whatever reason.

He knows that, as a child, he hadn't had more than maybe one or two swimming lessons, preferring to study. Maybe that was why, he hadn't taken advantage of his pliable child mind and then the rigidity had set into him, causing his problem.

He feels...Useless, like that. What would happen when Haruka and Makoto left? Leaving it to Nagisa to teach new members three other strokes wouldn't be fair, and he'd look foolish, being unable to swim at least one other stroke. It was unthinkable that someone in the swimming club couldn't swim more than one. Haruka was an exception, certainly, because he _could_ swim other strokes, he just _chose_ not to.

It didn't have to be...Perfect. He had butterfly for that. But it had to be presentable. And Rin was the only other person he knew who swam besides the team, so, he had been his only option, really.

Not that he wasn't grateful, rather, the opposite, that was why he was here at the grocery store in the first place. Rin had been helpful from the start, offering direct, specific instruction, hands-on adjustments, even gentle and constant encouragement. It was almost jarring, given how aggressive he could get during races and otherwise.

(Rei hasn't yet forgotten before the relay, but, it makes the change all the more impressive, that Rin could pull himself together so fast.)

He glances at the recipe he'd chosen to use, scrolling through the ingredients on his phone. It was fairly simple, cookies with plenty of sugar and cinnamon mixed in, crisp and easy to snack on, according to the reviews left by others. He'd taken a lot of time to think it through, trying to recall the few times that he'd eaten with Rin, what he tended towards and what he avoided.

Rin...Tended to eat salty, rich foods, and enough vegetables to sort of balance them out. Something with more sugar would be best...But it had to be easy to eat. Something quick too...He's busy, Rei had been certain about that. A 'pick me up' kind of snack that was good on the go.

With those thoughts in mind, Rei had looked online before picking a simplistic cookie recipe. Naturally, he had to make something that suited Rin's needs, or else, what was the point? A gift that was useless was worse than none at all, or at least, that's what he's been told.

...Assuming Rin even liked cookies, but, it was a pretty usual snack food, wasn't it? He'd never met anyone who disliked them, at least.

At the last moment, when he's almost at the register, a cookie cutter catches his eye, and he grabs it without thinking.

_Perfect._

* * *

At the end of one of their 'lessons', when Rin is about to walk off, Rei gathers up courage and stops him with a small shout.

"Erm, Rin-san, could you wait please?"

"Huh?" He turns to face Rei, and this is suddenly rather nerve-wracking, "What is it? Got a question?"

"N-" He takes a quick breath, "No, nothing like that. I...Here."

He pulls out a carefully wrapped box from his backpack and hands it to Rin, who takes it with a cautious kind of expression.

"...What's this?"

"I," Why is this so hard all of a sudden, "I'm grateful that you're helping me so much, so I...Made you those."

"You made it?" He looks at the box a little closer, it seems, but doesn't open it. "What is it?"

"Cookies." Adjusting his glasses, he adds, "I made them according to what you were lacking, diet-wise. Though, I'm not sure they're to your taste, but..."

"You made me cookies."

Rei adjusts his glasses with more force. "What- What's with that tone?!"

"Nothing, nothing!" Hastily, Rin backtracks, raising his hands back. "It's just kinda...Unexpected, that's all."

There's an awkward pause where Rei can't seem to look straight at Rin and Rin doesn't look at him either.

"Well, that's all I wanted, so I'll see you...Tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah." Rin nods, still not quite looking his way, and Rei is wondering if the cookies were a mistake after all. "Yeah, tomorrow."

As he turns away though, Rin calls out, "Thanks, I'll eat them later", and relief furrows deep through his heart. At least, if anything, his intentions had gotten across.

And maybe Rin will tell him tomorrow that they were good, and the thought makes him feel lighter than usual, somehow.

* * *

When he gets back, Sousuke waves from the top bunk, and Rin knows he's probably too busy listening to music and doing his homework to hear him, so he cracks open the box, just to take a peek.

 _Why is this not a surprise,_ he thinks, examining the cookies in front. _Butterflies. He made me butterfly cookies._

Part of him wants to groan, the other part finds it hilarious. He settles on a small snicker, wondering where Rei had even found something like that. He'd even frosted them a specific way, so Rin couldn't doubt that they were butterflies if he tried.

He kind of wants to try one, but it's probably better to hold off until tomorrow, with the time. He wonders if they'll taste good. The guy is precise, so he probably followed a recipe to the letter, down to the last milligram.

 _Really...He didn't have to do this. I'm helping him because I want to_.

Still, he can't help but softly smile. He's...Rei's really something else, coming back night after night, apologizing first and then asking, every time, "Please teach me the other strokes!" It makes Rin like him more than he already kind of does; besides the fact that he owes the guy a ton for letting him pull that stunt during his first relay, his seriousness makes him likable. He cares a lot and keeps trying despite roadblocks, and he doesn't hesitate to ask for advice, or say what he thinks. He's made of tougher stuff than Rin had anticipated.

He looks at them one more time before closing the box. He's really looking forward to them, honestly.

* * *

 "Aw, come on, pleaaaase senpai! Just one more! I'll savor it, promise! Please please please please pleeeeeeeeeeeassss--"

"All right, all right, one more, but just one!"

"Yahoo!"

_Geesh._

"Handmade cookies~ Handmade~!"

_What's he so excited about?_

"Ya know, those are--"

"--Ah, see ya later, senpai! I gotta go, there's some people I gotta meet!"

"Haa?! Hold on--"

Too late. Momotarou is out the door before Rin has a chance to say who exactly made those cookies. Glancing down at the box, now three cookies less, he feels something kind of unpleasant roll around in his chest.

...Those were _his_ , dammit, even if they were too sweet, Rei had made them for him--

"--What are you pouting about?"

"Sousuke?" His head snaps towards the door. "I wasn't pouting."

"Looked like one to me." He answers with a shrug, and Rin frowns. "Something happen? What are those?"

He comes over and takes one from the box before Rin even has a chance to say anything, biting off a wing and frowning. "Sweet...A little too much."

"You could have asked." Rin mutters, and Sousuke glances at him for a moment before a sly sort of smirk shows up on his face.

"Oh, I see." The look he's giving him is suspicious, and Rin stares back up, not wholly sure of what's coming. "Someone special gave you these, right?"

"What- Hell no!" He kicks him in the shin, not hard, but not as gently as usual either. "It was just a thank you gift, geesh. You know I go out at night to help Rei out."

"Really?" Sousuke says, raising an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Rin knows this won't be the end of it, but he nods, daring him to say anything more.

Sousuke just shrugs again and says, "All right. Sorry I took one without asking."

"It's fine." He mutters, even though it's not totally, because he's down to half of what he had.

"You're pouting again."

"I am NOT."

**Author's Note:**

> I am a broke shipper I cannot think about ep 3 without smiling
> 
> I really just wanted a gen thing since we didn't get to see how that whole cookie debacle went down. Which I wish they had shown. I wish they had shown everything I am dying how did Rei even find out about Rin's diet. Kyoani please do not make me struggle like this I just wrote and finished a 40+k fanfic I don't need this


End file.
